Fratricide
by BetaRayThorse
Summary: Before Thor takes Loki back to Asgard, he gives his brother a chance to talk. Loki had a muzzle on for a reason though. He could use words too well.


Author's note: Written while I had writer's block, so it probably shows. I wanted to write a Thorki piece, but well, it turned out a bit different that I had planned. In case you can't tell by the title, this contains character death.

._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

"Hey, are you sure about this?"

Thor looks at his brother, then back to Stark. "Don't worry. I assure you everything will be fine. He will do no harm to me"

The look in in the prisoner's eyes say otherwise. They are filled with hatred and anger, and he seems moments away from attacking them.

"If you say so." Tony dropped a set of keys in Thor's hand. "You should have the whole tower to you and," he looks to Loki, then back to Thor, "the demigod or whatever have the towers all to yourself."

Thor smiled. "Thank you."

Loki rolled his eyes at his brother's politeness. Thor gave his chains a jerk and started walking, the prisoner having no choice but to follow. He could have acted like a spiled child and made the Thunderer drag him, but Loki had his pride. He was led to what was left of Stark Tower. Loki felt proud of the damage he had caused.

Thor unlocked the door and motioned for the prisoner to enter. When he did, the door was quickly locked. Loki waited to see if his brother planned to take him elsewhere in the tower. By the look on Thor's face though, he had no clue if he wanted to or not. The tower was covered with debris from their fight. The ground floor was most likely in the best shape, and even that was a mess. Loki decided to sit on a stool while Thor made up his mind on what to do.

He locked eyes with him.

_Why are we here?_ Loki's eyes spoke for him.

Thor bent to get eye level with him, and his hand approached the villain's face. Loki simply stared in return.

_Get away from me._

This message went unheard. Thor moved his hands to the muzzle. "I want a chance to speak to you before we go back home."

He removed the piece of metal from his mouth. Loki was surprised. His brother hadn't put it on him that long ago. He wet his lips and opened his mouth, savoring the feeling. "Didn't you put that wretched contraption on to prevent me from doing just that? So I wouldn't tell you any more of my lies and talk my way out of things?"

Loki was a master over words. He could pick the right ones and make almost anyone come over to his side. He could especially play Thor like a fiddle. He knew him so well; he knew just what made his older brother tick.

Thor sighed. "I want to apologize. It must have been terrible, growing up in my shadow. I had no idea of your feelings, and for that I am sorry."

Apparently, Thor knew him just as well as Loki did him. How long had he wanted an apology? His gaze softened slightly, and Thor noticed.

"Secondly, I want you to come back to Asgard by your own will. If you come back without force, free of chains, Father will see that you know what you have done is wrong and might show you mercy."

Thor's apology was wasted. Loki's hatred quickly returned.

"Mercy? You think Odin would show mercy on _me_?" Loki hissed. "I'm a Jotun, the enemy."

"You know just as well as I do that Father loves you like his own."

Loki could tell Thor was trying hard to not let Loki's words reach him. The God of Mischief decided otherwise.

"Do you want to know why father took me in?" Loki's voice grew quieter, almost to a whisper. He had spent more then his fair share of him thinking over the reason. "For you, Thor. So your light would have a darkness."

"You know that is not true," Thor argued. Loki noticed how his tone was more aggressive and smiled.

"In order for him to raise a king, he needed to be raised along a villain."

"Loki, stop this!

"He had no care for me at all! I was just a tool for him to use!"

Thor clutched his fist, and Loki's smile grew even wider. His brother was getting ready to give into his anger. He braced himself.

The punch never came. Instead, he found a pair of warm arm around around him. Loki was shocked. Why was his brother hugging him?

"Brother." Loki wanted to pointed out that weren't related by blood, but he didn't. "For you to say such awful things, I feel sorry. The world is not as dark as you make it out to be."

"Thor, let me go," Loki pleaded.

"I need you to understand this. I love you. Mother loves you. You are not the monster you think you are."

"You're mistaken, brother." How long had it been since he called Thor that?

Thor released him. "I am not."

Loki pondered over his words. What did he want out of this conversation? Had Thor's actions and words changed him?

He found he was still angry. He wanted to get revenge on his Thor, even though he had already apologized for his actions. He wanted to rule over over earth. He wanted to be free. It didn't take Loki long to come up with a plan.

Thor never should have taken off his muzzle.

"You are. I am a Jotun, a monster. These chains, " Loki held them up to demonstrate, "are for everyone's good."

"You do not need these chains."

"Of course I do. I would kill you without then."

"Surely you do not belive that!"

Loki said nothing, simply giving Thor an innocent gaze in return.

"I do not believe that. I will show you that you are not as evil as the man a you think you are."

He undid the chains. Thor loved his brother, from the bottom of his heart. He could accept that his brother was hurt and confused, but he would never accept that he was truly evil.

Loki wasted no time wrapping his hands around Thor's throat.

Thor could have easily shaken him off, but he needed Loki to see that he wasn't a villain. He knew, hoped, that deep inside Loki would realize that he didn't want to do any of this.

"Not even all the sweet words in the world will do you any good. I am a monster, and I will rule. I am wiser then you, better then you will ever be!"

Loki also knew Thor. He wanted the other to realize how corrupt he had become. If Thor, the only person who would always smile and have faith in him, no longer believed that Loki could be good, then he couldn't. He needed that to be the truth.

Neither made a move.

Loki kept squeezing harder and harder on the his s neck, waiting for him to stop him. Thor kept waiting for him to realize that he wasn't as bad of a person as he thought he was.

Both were wrong.

There was hardly any sign of Thor's death after it happened. He didn't stop struggling, because he never started. Up to the last few seconds, he was sure Loki would stop. He would stop, and then they wold return to Asgard arm in arm. He also, somehow, somewhere, decided that if his death would be what his brother needed to turn his life around, then so be it.

Would that make up for all the neglect Thor had given him?

"Thor...? Thor! Come on! Stop me! Hit me! Smash me against the wall! Don't lay there let a broken doll!"

Loki screamed out. The calm composure that he always kept disappeared. He shouted at Thor over and over, calling him every name he knew.

"Come on! You can't be dead! How are you suppose to bring me back to Asgard like this?"

No matter what he did, the dead body wouldn't move.

"Brother!"

._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

Loki didn't know how much time had passed. The sun had gone down and had come back up, so he assumed he had been a day. The door opened, but he didn't bother to check who it was. The intruder started to shout for someone named Jarvis. He must have been shocked.

He was greeted with a dead body, and Loki sitting on the stool right next to him, just as lifeless.

_Thor. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. You'll wake up if I promise to behave, right?_

Something had died inside Loki as well. He didn't rejoice over killing Thor like he should have. He felt miserable, the worse he had in his life. He didn't want to rule or cause mischief. He had no desires left.

Loki wasn't a good person, no matter how highly Thor thought of him. He believed his little brother had repented for the way he acted and would do no more wrong.

It appeared now his view of Loki in that aspect was finally right.


End file.
